In 2025, some of the world’s most influential investment banks have demonstrated their ability to adapt, innovate, and lead in a variety of sectors. From mega M&As to flagship IPOs, these financial powerhouses have cemented their positions as industry leaders by executing high-profile deals that have shaped global markets.
Financial Services
UBS
With a dedicated team of 150 experts in the category, UBS has delivered the most watched financial deals of the year. In the US, the Swiss powerhouse played a leading role in the $1.6 billion acquisition of Paramount Group by global asset manager Rhythm Capital. In Europe, UBS acted as financial advisor to Monte dei Paschi di Siena on the voluntary public takeover and exchange offer of Mediobanca for 16.5 billion euros (about 19 billion dollars). UBS also advised financial services provider Baloise on its 17.8 billion Swiss franc (about 22 billion) equity merger with Helvetia, one of the sector’s most significant deals. UBS acted as active bookrunner for the May IPO of Israeli retail trading platform Toro, valued at $4.2 billion. The bank also acted as joint bookrunner for Swedish fintech Klarna’s $1.4 billion IPO in September. — Thomas Monteiro
Health care
Rothschild & Co
With a specialized healthcare team of more than 100 banking advisors in 20 offices around the world, Rothschild secured several of the most complex and high-profile deals in 2025.
Balancing IPO and private sale options, the London-based firm supported Sanofi’s takeover of French multinational pharmaceutical company Opella, valued at 16 billion euros. The bank also acted as co-lead advisor on the €10 billion sale of pharmaceutical company Stada Arzneimittel to investment firm CapVest—one of Europe’s biggest acquisitions in 2025. In Switzerland, Rothschild advised the Swiss multinational medical-technology company Ypsomed on the acquisition and sale of its 2 million Swiss Diabetes Care 4 Division.
Beyond Europe, the bank backed healthcare deals in Asia and North America, including India’s landmark sale of a controlling stake in JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals to Torrent Pharmaceuticals for nearly $3 billion. -TM
Industrial/Chemical
Barclays
2025 saw an increase in industrial and chemical M&A activity, with major deals in the US and Europe reshaping the market. UK’s Barclays played a key advisory role, including in Berkshire Hathaway’s $9.7 billion acquisition of OxyChem, which was spun off from Occidental Petroleum.
Barclays also advised the buy side on the $13.4 billion acquisition of Nova Chemicals by a consortium led by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and OMV, the largest cross-border deal of the year in the sector, which has played a major role in strengthening global polyolefins production.
In industrial technology, Barclays advised CVC Capital Partners on its £2 billion ($2.5 billion) acquisition of Smiths Detection by Smiths Group, highlighting continued private equity interest in high-tech industrial assets. -TM
Infrastructure Finance
Societe Generale
As infrastructure investment accelerates in 2025, French giant Societe Generale played a key role in some of the most important infrastructure projects of the year. In the UK, Societe Generale acted as the authorized arranger and underwriter for the £5.5 billion (approximately $7.3 billion) financing of the Sizewell C nuclear power station, one of Europe’s most important electricity infrastructure projects and a cornerstone of the country’s long-term energy security strategy.
The bank was also a key player in the green financing of Eastern Green Link 2, the 505 km (about 314 miles) electricity cable connecting Scotland and England. The project will transport up to 2 GW of renewable electricity from offshore wind farms to areas in need further south, enough to power more than two million homes while strengthening the UK’s electricity grid. Digital infrastructure has also been a key pillar of Societe Generale’s franchise. The bank participated in the financing of 650 million euros to develop a European hyperscale data platform supported by Iliad Group and InfraVia, to support the expansion of cloud computing infrastructure and AI. -TM
Metals & Mining
BMO Capital Markets
After reaching record highs in 2025, prices of base metals and precious minerals continue to be battered as economic risks and uncertainties persist, with volatile tariffs and supply disruptions related to the Iran conflict. Strong valuations have contributed to an increase in capital markets activity, with many companies opting to scale up or divest non-core assets. BMO Capital Markets continues to help clients successfully navigate these complex markets by providing advisory and capital market execution on large transactions.
Globally, BMO covered 21 transactions in 2025 worth an estimated $38 billion. It is also the top bank in the sector in underwriting equity capital-markets. In one of the largest steel and mining deals of the past 10 years, BMO advised on the $50 billion merger of Teck Resources and Anglo American. With BMO’s dominant market position, it has cultivated many long-term relationships. One of those clients is Coeur Mining, the company it advised on the acquisition of SilverCrest Metals with a total stated value of approximately $1.7 billion. BMO has also been named as an advisor to Coeur Mining’s announced acquisition of New Gold, valued at approximately $7 billion. — David Sanders
Strength/Strength
BTG Pactual
The global outlook for energy and energy investment remains strong in 2025, driven by rising infrastructure costs amid the restructuring of supply chains due to increased national conflicts and the continued acceleration of renewable energy conversion projects. Against this backdrop, our leading bank in the sector, Brazilian heavyweight BTG Pactual, has leveraged its region’s massive privatization, divestiture, and private investment growth to record highs.
Among the bank’s main deals of the year in this sector, BTG acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Equatorial Energia in the Brazilian-real sale (about 1.8 billion) of the electricity transmission portfolio to Canada’s CDPQ, one of the largest infrastructure projects of the year. BTG also advised Eletrobras on the original 535 million sale of its stake in Eletronuclear to subsidiary J&F Investimentos, a strategic divestment aimed at diversifying the Brazilian resource portfolio. The firm has been equally active in energy transition investments. BTG acted as exclusive financial advisor to Orizon in the original sale of $275 million of small equity to eB Capital, supporting the expansion of the waste-to-energy sector. -TM
Real Estate Finance
DBS Bank
As one of the leading banks in the Asia-Pacific region, DBS has been recognized as a global leader in retail finance. Southeast Asia’s largest bank has issued a remarkable 300 million Singapore dollars (about $235 million) in five-year perpetual bonds with a yield of less than 3.18%. This issuance is one of the largest permanent corporate bonds in Singapore dollars and has the lowest estimated value in 2025. DBS also acted as one of the underwriters/managers for Hysan Development’s $750 million bond issue.
Finally, DBS issued multitranche 3.5 billion offshore yuan (about $508.5 million) green senior unsecured notes due in 2028, 2030, and 2035. This was the first public 10-year offshore yuan bond. — Lyndsey Zhang
Sports Finance
Guggenheim Securities
By 2025, Guggenheim was a key player in sports finance, advising on major franchise transactions and strategic deals. The company helped CEO Mark Walter’s historic purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 billion; it was the highest amount ever received by a professional sports team.. Guggenheim also advised Major League Baseball on a $9 billion debt restructuring deal with Main Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group), helping it emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. in the NFL they are irrelevant. Additionally, Guggenheim has developed structured credit solutions for sports teams, allowing them to use non-game day revenue.
Technology, Media, Communications
UBS
In 2025, UBS played a key role in the renaissance of tech dealmaking, benefiting from high revenue. The bank acted as exclusive financial advisor to Veeco Instruments in its $4.4 billion merger with Axcelis Technologies, which combines semiconductor equipment suppliers to meet the growing demand for AI and data centers. UBS also led Fermi America’s $13.8 billion IPO for a dual listing on the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, marking the first such listing in more than a century. In Europe, UBS was joint bookrunner for the 901.6 million euro IPO of Swiss Marketplace Group, one of the continent’s largest digital platforms.
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